Embodiments of the invention relate to a powered system or unit, such as a locomotive, an off-highway vehicle, a marine vessel, and/or a transportation vehicle. Other embodiments relate to a system and method for supplying electrical power to loads in such a powered system.
Powered systems or units such as locomotives use traction motor inverters and auxiliary inverters to supply power and control auxiliary loads, such as, but not limited to, radiator fans, compressors, blowers, and the like. The inverters are three-phase inverters that provide a balanced three-phase output of electrical power. Currently, an individual three-phase inverter is used to provide power for an individual direct current (DC) load. Therefore, if there are two DC loads, two three-phase inverters are required. In addition to a three-phase inverter, other parts are required for each DC load, such as transformers, rectifiers, and/or DC/DC converters.
Owners and operators of powered systems that require power to be provided to both AC loads and DC loads using power inverters would benefit from a system that requires fewer parts, or an ability to use three-phase inverters in their current form to supply power to dual DC loads and provide independent control of power to each of these loads.